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STEAM Horizon Awards

Youth converge in Ottawa for the 2019 STEAM Horizon Awards

Erin Secord holds up an example of a hazardous artifact. Oil for a printing machine in a bag.

Behind the scenes: Conservators face unique task handling hazardous artifacts

A photo of a podium that The Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.

Volunteer week: The Canada Agriculture and Food Museum offers an unusual museum experience

Bill Weiler, a member of the Bytown Railway Society, stains wood planks in preparation for the restoration of the 1924 daycoach.

Volunteer Week: Bytown Railway Society preserves a passion for locomotives

Robert Day stands by the Lockheed 10E Electra, made famous by Amelia Earhart’s attempted trip around the world.

Volunteer week: An inside look at the volunteers at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum

Cristina Wood and Tom Everrett examine records of tailwater elevations from the Domtar/E.B. Eddy/J.R. Booth Collection, which provided some of the historical data sets used in the “Songs of the Ottawa” project.

Songs of the Ottawa: Using sound to interpret historical data

A mother and daughter weaving a carpet.

Unseen and unrecognized: Women’s key role in the history of computer memories

Cows walk in front of a building at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum.

Virtual reality brings the farm life experience to students worldwide

The exterior of the new Collections Conservation Centre, set against a snowy landscape.

Ingenium’s Collections Conservation Centre: Bringing Canada’s Past into the Future

The rare book room with some new boxes.

Behind the scenes: Preparing Ingenium's library and archives for a big move

An oil painting depicts a hotel dwarfed by the mountains of Banff.

Why we collect

Two pairs of robotic legs are pictured next to a snowbank and a thermometer.

The punishing polar vortex is ideal for Cassie the Robot

From the Channel

About the Channel

Ingenium Channel is a digital hub featuring curated content related to science, technology and innovation.

The wireless telegraphy station of the physics laboratory of the Collège Sainte-Marie, Montréal, Québec. Anon., “Des postes de télégraphie sans fil établis à Montréal.” La Patrie, 3 April 1909, 9.

Science, technology, innovation and catholicism

Rénald Fortier

Ave / hello, my reading friend. I have a confession to make. Err, yes, I am a bit wacky, but this admission is not the one I had in mind. I must confess I have been interested in the history of science and, perhaps even more, to that of technology for many, many years. If it is true that I have a weakness for the history of aviation, I dare to hope I have somewhat catholic, in other word universal, fields of interest, and ... And yes, you’re right, I plan once again to move away from the only

A hand writes "E = mc2" on a black chalkboard.

Social Science & Culture

Albert Einstein offered up a theory for a happy life

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

German-born theoretical physicist Albert Einstein is probably best remembered for his mass-energy equivalence formula E = mc 2 , which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation." But did you know that Einstein also proposed his own theory for how to live a happy life? Check out this article from Curiosity to read the full details.

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Collections & Connections

Stories from our collections, about the people we meet and the work we do at our three museums. Hosted by Collections and Research staff at Ingenium, find out about our diverse activities and projects, the exhibitions we work on, and the connections we make across Canada and around the world.

Kindergartener Nathaniel Whelan and his older sister standing outside Roberta Bondar Public School.

Bondar Soaring Beyond

Nathaniel Neil Whelan

I still remember the feeling of pride. I don’t know if it’s because senior kindergarteners are that much more sophisticated than the lesser juniors, but even as a five-year-old, I knew there was something special about being a part of the first generation of students to attend Roberta Bondar Public School in Ottawa. The halls were freshly waxed and the jungle gym had yet to be climbed. It was my school — more so, it seemed, than the person who it was named after.

Barbara Ann Scott with her flying instructor. Noel Bart, “Skating sky skipper.” Skyways, April 1949, 28.

She was the skating queen, young and sweet – and a pilot too

Rénald Fortier

Hello there, my reading friend. As we all move along the month of April, enjoying the rites of spring, yours truly thought that a feel good story might not be a bad idea. What say ye? Good. Let us proceed then. Once upon a time, in late 1946 or early 1947, a number of teenagers and young adults, both female and male, were taking lessons at a skating school. Many of the male skaters were taking flying lessons, or already had a pilot licence. Some of these young men openly bragged about their

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Business & Economics

Collection Development

The northern lights

'We come from the stars': How Indigenous peoples are taking back astronomy

Michel Labrecque

Ingenium – Canada's Museums of Science and Technology

For the past 14 years, Wilfred Buck, an Elder from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation and science facilitator with the Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre, has been teaching astronomy from an Indigenous perspective. 　 Buck has strong ties with Ingenium. In 2017, he and Annette S. Lee (Founder of Native Skywatchers) co-curated the exhibition, "One Sky, Many Astronomies" for the new Canada Science and Technology Museum. The exhibition features Mista Muskwa — a Bear Ininew constellation story

One of the cabins of the téléscaphe plunging underneath the waves, Callelongue, France. Anon., “Et plouf! Un petit voyage chez nos amis les poissons.” Photo-Journal, 23 April 1969, 8.

Engineering & Technology

An ideal topic for a month of April: 20 000 inches under the sea

Rénald Fortier

Bon jorn / good day. I have a question for you, my reading friend. Would you like to take a closer look at the wonders that lie beneath the surface of the ocean, without having to transform yourself into a human frog with scuba gear, air tanks, regulator, mask, fins, etc.? Yes, I know, there are aquariums that offer such an experience. Yes, yes, again, I know, some sites offer underwater tours in abundantly glazed submarines. What I’m talking about is very different. What I’m talking about

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A man studies the ice under the surface of a rock face.

Earth & Environment

Arctic Roads: Canada in a Changing Climate

Let's Talk Energy

Canada's seasonal Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk ice road is now a permanent feature in the Arctic. A warming climate has led to this. Learn more about this remarkable feature in Canada's landscape.

Unseen and unrecognized: Women’s key role in the history of computer memories

Ghazaleh Jerban

Guest writer, Ingenium-University of Ottawa Fellowship in Gender, Science and Technology.

A mother smiles as she and two children make lunch together in a kitchen.

Food allergies 101: What every parent needs to know

Sarah I.K.M. King, Eng., PhD

Ingenium – Canada's Museums of Science and Technology

If you’re the parent of a school-age child in Canada, there’s a very good chance you’ve had to think twice about allergic reactions to food — even if your own child doesn’t have allergies. Perhaps you’ve dropped your child off at school with a sandwich or snack, only to find out later that your well-intentioned food item may have put a classmate at risk of a severe allergic reaction. While planning a birthday party or playdate, you may have even been contacted by the parent of a child with

Ken Molson sitting on a dock near a seaplane

Ken Molson's photographs detail Canada's aviation history

In honour of Archives Awareness Week (April 1-7), Ingenium is highlighting a few gems taken from our digital collection. Was Ken Molson born with the dream of flying? Or did he acquire the taste, little by little, just as he collected photographs on aviation themes, little by little, over his lifetime? Ken Molson’s personal archives were donated to the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in 1996 and were later certified as Canadian cultural property. The archives cover the entire history of

An artist's rendering of an urban centre; trees dot the landscape.

Earth & Environment

Urban trees

Let's Talk Energy

Trees in urban settings play multiple roles that impact things like air quality, storm water drainage and how we enjoy our leisure time. This short video digs a little deeper into these and other vital roles played by urban trees.

Avro CF-105 Arrow in front of Avro Canada hangar with crowd in foreground.

Photos of the celebrated Avro Arrow plus...a disassembled vending machine?

In honour of Archives Awareness Week (April 1-7), Ingenium is highlighting a few gems taken from our digital collection. Imagine what it might have been like to be a behind-the scenes, corporate photographer for A.V. Roe Canada. How interesting – and historically significant – it would have been to capture images of the incredible Avro Arrow, which was doomed to cancellation and destruction. What else would the corporate photographer have captured? You won’t have to guess any longer, because the

D.M. Ferry & Co. Seed Annual 1924, Catalogue from CSTM Library's Trade Literature Collection

Social Science & Culture

Colourful, quirky trade literature added to Ingenium’s Digital Archives

Kristy von Moos

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

In honour of Archives Awareness Week (April 1-7), Ingenium is highlighting a few gems taken from our digital collection. The Canada Science and Technology Museum’s Library and Archives holds more than 40,000 pieces of trade literature, dating from the mid-1800s to the present. This collection consists of any type of printed material published by a company or manufacturer to promote sales of its products, including technical and repair manuals, catalogues, parts lists, price lists, advertisements

A pink shoe is displayed with the words, "T-Mobile Sidekicks Smart Shoe Phone."

Social Science & Culture

The science behind April Fools’ pranks

Ingenium - Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation

In honour of April first, the Super Awesome Science Show dedicates a podcast to the science behind April Fools — examining what makes a good prank and how to make a prank work. Tune in to the podcast, and check out a short video compilation of prank ads including a chocolate burger and a smartphone shoe (content in English only).